Chapter 7

Soram was momentarily at a loss for words, and in that moment, Lee Jae-hyeon exclaimed, "Tae-un! Oh my, Chief! In the end, you're trying to trip up the kid who's trying to go to a good place. Of course he has to go to the headquarters, what are you saying!"

"It won't be okay. Obviously," Soram answered, drawing the gazes of the three people towards him.

"The headquarters can't let go of a 1st-grade awakener. The only reason an official document and grace period were given is because Han Tae-un belongs to the Guncheon County Office. If he were an ordinary awakener, he would have been summoned to Seoul the very next day. Right now, it's persuasion, but if he really refuses to go, they'll even stir up the media to threaten him. '26-year-old young 1st-grade hunter chooses to stay back in the rear rather than the frontlines of the rift. Ignoring the lives of 20 million citizens in the metropolitan area. Selfish Guncheon County shackling the new hero.'"

"..."

"Something like that. Even I'm afraid of the media response team."

"What kind of choice is that!" Noh Mun-yeong shouted loudly, his face turning red after hearing the words that were no different from a threat. His accusing gaze conveyed that despite the fancy words, in the end, their intention to take people away was the same.

"But you know, people don't die just from getting cursed at a bit. As time passes like that, people will just accept it as it is. ...Oh."

Beep- Beep-

Soram raised his wrist band, which had started ringing loudly. The siren's high-pitched sound was impossible not to hear, no matter how noisy the surroundings were. Just a moment. Soram pressed the button next to the small screen in front of the three people.

"This is Jin Soram."

"Jin Soram, you bastard, where are you now? Where did you disappear to again?"

"Ah, Deputy Director."

Deputy Director? Upon hearing the title Soram used to address the other person and the voice, the people present could easily picture the face of a man in his 60s. Who wouldn't know? He was the most sensational awakening case in Korea and someone who personally proved that there was no set age for awakening.

A hunter who awakened at the age of 61, the year after being appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The person who, just the day before, had shown a neat and dignified appearance as a judge, and then the day after awakening, sat in a slouched posture at his retirement ceremony-cum-press conference and left a legendary interview, saying, "Ah, damn it, how did I come this far, and now this happens..." It was none other than Kwon Jung-oh.

People had wondered if he would be able to fulfill the role of a hunter well, but a few years later, he appeared as the deputy director assisting Director Park Jae-seon. And as if he had a grudge against someone, from that position, he verbally beat up political figures to his heart's content and brought power to the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters.

"I'm in Guncheon right now."

"...Guncheon? Why are you there?"

"What should I do? I came to greet the new hunter in advance and get along well with him, but the atmosphere isn't very good. It seems they absolutely won't let Han Tae-un go from here. It's ruined. I don’t know what to do."

"You rascal! You, you! It hasn't even been a day since I told you not to cause trouble! Greet them politely right now and come out quietly!"

"Ugh, you know I get twice as ill-mannered when I'm shy around strangers."

"This crazy bastard! Oh my, I can't live out my life because of that guy, really...!"

"No, with your energy, you'll live to be a hundred years old."

"Jin So...!"

Before the loud shouting began, Soram turned off the communicator with a beep sound.

"See? People don't die."

"Huh."

"Since you seem to think there's not even a choice, you should at least know this. There's a method like this too."

"..."

"Since the deputy director told me to greet you politely and leave, I'll get going now. Think carefully, and take care."

Soram actually got up from his seat, put his hands together, and bowed. And unlike when he came in, he opened the door normally and left.

It took quite some time for the aftermath to subside.

"...What just happened...?"

Lee Jae-hyeon muttered in bewilderment, looking at the closed wooden door. The silence felt even more empty after the talkative person left.

Noh Mun-yeong, who had been looking at the floor, spoke heavily, "Tae-un, ...I think I was too selfish too,"

"Ah, excuse me for a moment."

At that moment, the door swung open again. Soram stuck his body in, raising one hand.

"Where do I catch the intercity bus to Seoul here?"

"...You can just fly. Like you did earlier."

"If I do it twice, I think I'll freeze to death. If I die of hypothermia and a 1st-grade position becomes vacant, Han Tae-un will be forcibly transferred to the headquarters without any choice."

"The morning bus has already left, and the next one is in five hours."

"Eh, really? Where do I catch a taxi...?"

"..."

"...Then, a motel or accommodation facility where I can stay for about five hours...."

"..."

For the first time since arriving in Guncheon, Soram's eyes wavered. He, who had flown here through the sky, would know best. The surroundings were just fields, rice paddies, and low-rise factories sparsely scattered around a vast open land. Forget about intercity buses; it would be hard to even see a village bus.

"Tae-un," Noh Mun-yeong suddenly said.

"Yes."

"It'll take three hours to get to Seoul by car at this time. Take him and come back. ...And while you're at it, go and greet your new workplace. If possible, take a tour and come back. I'll arrange it as if I borrowed you from the police station, so clock out right away. Jae-hyeon, that's okay, right?"

"Yes, yes. It's okay! Wow, Chief, you changed your mind?"

Noh Mun-yeong glanced at Soram and roughly wiped his mouth.

"It's not because of the threat or whatever. I finally came to my senses when I thought about Tae-un staying in this rural office. What are you doing? The rest of you, let's go out for a smoke. Chief Hunter Jin, then take care on your way back."

"Ah, yes..."

Noh Mun-yeong patted Tae-un's shoulder and left. Only Soram and Tae-un remained in the room.

Tae-un approached Soram, who was scratching his cheek. Because he was standing with his back to the window and in front of the door, a slight shadow fell on Soram. It was also because he was taller than Soram.

"Shall we go?"

"Uh..., yes. Then I'll impose on you."

"Yes."

* * *

A silver mid-size car drove on the quiet highway in the afternoon. The somewhat musty and stale smell from the heater mixed strangely with the potpourri scent hanging next to the rearview mirror. Since there was no built-in navigation in the vehicle, Tae-un's cell phone was used instead, and the map app gave occasional notifications.

"Is this... your car, Han Tae-un?"

"No. It's a car used by the Guncheon County Office."

Ah, so it's a shared car. No wonder there were parts that didn't match Tae-un's personality. Like the cute heart-shaped parking number plate, or the document envelopes scattered here and there in the back seat...

Tae-un, who was driving quite skillfully as directed by the map, spoke, "If you're tired, you can sleep."

"Me? Do I look tired?"

"You went out on a dispatch early today, didn't you?"

"Oh... you're right, but how did you know?"

"I saw the article."

"Aha."

Indeed, with so many onlookers, it must have become a hot topic, and an article was bound to be published.

Soram, who had been thinking about something for a while, shook his head. He had enough of having a bad relationship with Han Tae-un in his previous life. He was too lazy to do that tiring thing again, which had little effect anyway.

"I'm not tired enough to sleep while you're driving next to me."

For now, let's try to get along moderately.

Usually, the purpose of sitting in the passenger seat was to keep the driver from getting bored by talking to them. Soram initially had that intention too. However...

"Have you been living in Guncheon all this time, Han Tae-un?"

"Except for the 1 year I lived in a dormitory in Seoul after entering university and the 2 years in the military, yes."

"Ah, that must be frustrating. Hunters can have their military service substituted."

"Hmm."

Tae-un gave a very short response, whether it was an answer or not, and silence fell in the car once again.

...Somehow, this feeling of talking to a rock... made Soram's old memories vividly resurface.

Right, Han Tae-un was this kind of person. Blunt, straightforward, and a man of few words. He had temporarily forgotten while deliberately keeping his distance from him in the life just before this one.

Tae-un says what is absolutely necessary. However, the opposite of "absolutely necessary words" is not "useless words." In between, there are countless verbal expressions of friendship and communication, but Han Tae-un completely lacked that.

So, even if the third life was like that, they weren't very close in the first and second lives either. Despite having spent quite some time together, there were numerous instances where his heart pounded upon seeing him. Because he hardly ever spoke, it wasn't until the fourth life that he first learned that Tae-un had re-awakened from 3rd grade to 1st grade and that there had been a conflict with Guncheon County, because he hardly spoke at all.

...But why does this kind of person keep saving him?

Soram crossed his arms and scrutinized the person next to him as if examining him. Of course, it would be of no use to ask the current Han Tae-un.

"Don't you have anything you're curious about me, Han Tae-un?"

After a brief pause, he said, "Did you come to Guncheon to tell me that I don't have to come to the headquarters?"

"I told you it's not okay not to come to the headquarters. They're always short on manpower. But seeing you and the chief, I wanted to tell you that not being okay can also be an option."

"I see."

"I still think the same way now. If you don't want to come, refuse."

Tae-un briefly turned his gaze to look at the seat next to him.

"There are many good things about coming to the headquarters, but first of all, the intensity and frequency of rifts are much higher. It has been shown in global statistics that rifts occur more frequently in densely populated areas. The number of dungeons that explode because the rifts can't be blocked in time is at least three times a week."

"I see."

"It will be noisy for a while, but a new 1st-grade hunter will appear after you, and the attention will gradually subside. The issue of the uneven distribution of hunters has been a constant topic, so there will be people who agree with your opinion. So...."

"Chief Jin."

'Chief Jin. Are you....'

Soram gasped at Tae-un's voice calling him. A similar voice and way of addressing him suddenly came to his mind. The voice that had spoken with blood-clotted...

"Don't, call me like that."

Fortunately, Tae-un, who was driving, didn't notice the momentarily chilled expression.

"It's a bit awkward for people of the same age to use honorifics with each other. Just call me by my name. Jin Soram."

"Then, can I call you Jin Soram?"

"Yes, that's much more comfortable."

That was a way of addressing that didn't exist in the past three lives. This was better.

"Jin Soram. I never said I don't want to go to the headquarters."